A Jaded Perspective
by FAnime721
Summary: "Why. Why must such tragedy happen in the world. Why is it that we are forced to suffer in everything we do". For one particular Huntress, the truth, while hard to swallow, is something she's willing to try and change. My submission for the Monty Oum Project. An AU OC insert: M for (eventual) violence, language, psychological horror
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**Hey, everyone: thanks for checking this out. I'd like to start off by saying that I originally began this at about the start of Vol. 4, so late October/early November, after originally looking at a RWBY CYOA page that a friend suggested. But, I realized that I don't really want to do a self-insert. So, I took a few ideas from that, and spliced it together into this. Now, this isn't my first piece, and like the others, I started writing this with the intention of showing it to a few friends and leaving it at that. However, I found out about the Monty Oum Project a couple weeks ago, and I figured that this would be the perfect opportunity to actually see what people think. I have a few chapters pretty much written out (still needs some editing), so I'll try publishing those first, and if you guys like it, I'll keep publishing. If you don't… well, I'm still going to write this, so it's up to you guys if you're able to keep reading it or not. Fair warning: I'm keeping this with a lot of mystery, so you as the readers will (hopefully) be surprised later on, but until those things have been revealed, the story's probably going to seem pretty confusing. Although, feel free to message me (PM or review) if you think that something's wrong (whether it's story, spelling, whatever). I may have missed something, and I'll be grateful to those who catch it. Even if the missing part's intentional, I'll still be grateful, as it shows that people are reading it. And on the topic of people catching my mistakes, if something comes up that makes me seriously reconsider the plotline, I WILL change it. If it happens, I'll label that the chapter's updated in the intro. I got nothing else to say, so**

 **TLDR; Thanks for giving me a shot, and please review.**

 **Keep Moving Forward**

 **Published Feb. 4 2017**

...

...

" _SHITSHITSHITSHITSHITSHIT_ "

"HOLD IT!" a guard yells as he raises his rifle, still running as he aims at the escaping girl.

"AGH… FUCK…" she cries out as she feels a barrage of bullets make their mark in concession.

"Yeah, I got 'im!" the guard yells to his partner. "We're suppos' to CATCH him, not KILL him! JACKASS…" "I don't see you doin' anythin' about it!"

Slowly, she backs up, barely able to see the outline of a cliff through the darkness.

"Finally… we've been chasing you for MILES… ya little thief… Now, give us back the diary, an' we'll kill ya painlessly. Struggle more… well, you can guess."

" _Now then… are you desperate now?_ " the voice asks.

" _Fat chance… you blew my cover yesterday, I'm not letting you loose again._ "

It sighs, and grumbles " _Suit yourself. Just remember I'm always here._ "

"Well? What's your answer?!" the guard asks, lifting his rifle back up.

Wincing, the girl continues to back up, mentally keeping note of how far away she is from the edge. She sighs, lifts the hood off of her head, and takes off the mask disguising her face. Her cat ears twitch in amusement as she casually tries to shrug off the pain from the bullet wounds. "Yeah… fat chance, you fuckers."

"Holy shit… IT'S A GIRL!" "And a Faunus…" "YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT?!" "SHE BROKE MY NOSE, HOW THE HELL WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?!"

With one deep breath, she flicks her wrist and summons her weapon in its bow form, quickly pulling the drawstring back and letting a flurry of light arrows fly up above them. They turn to see what happened, as she rushes towards the two, quickly using their distracted state to land a few blows and knock them to the ground.

"Now, I'm going to leave." she tells the guards, turning around to face the cliff. "And let me say, you two actually put up a decent fight. For a couple of White Fang goons, anyways. Buut… I showed you my face. And you guys kinda have a hint as to who I am. So, as much as I hate to do it…"

She cracks a smile, turning her head back to see the guards for a moment longer. "You're gonna have to die."

With that, she takes one last step, and begins her descent to the ocean surface.

"HEY! SHE'S GETTIN' AWAY!" "I can SEE THAT, YA JACKASS!" the guards yell, attempting to take a few more shots before she disappears. The bullets whiz past, but she barely takes notice, as with one last twitch of the wrist, a shield appears just as she falls into the water.

…

"You think we got 'er?" "Don' matter anyway. Ain' NOBODY survivin' that fall." "Yeah… hey, whaddya think she meant by 'killin' us'?" "Beats me… but, time to go report to the boss." They holster their weapons, look up, and see the arrows from earlier meteor back down, quickly killing them before they realize the connection.

…

Time seemed like a distant memory. The sun rose, shone, and fell. The days should have been easy to count, if not for the dehydration and starvation. The boredom plagued the young girl's mind numerous times, as the only thing to do was to stare at the blue sky and float on the water, hoping that nothing big enough would come to the surface looking for an easy meal. Time… the one that always gets away…

...

...

 **Ok, what'd you think? I know it isn't much so far, but we have something. Right? Yeah, we don't have anything here. So, that's why chapter 2 is coming out with this one, to make sure you guys aren't lost or confused (any more than you have to be). Thanks for reading, and take a look at the header if you haven't already.**

 **Keep Moving Forward**


	2. Chapter 2: Introductions

**Nothing much to say here. Same as last time, thanks for reading, look at my notes on chapter 1 if you haven't already. Oh, and I forgot to mention: the reason I chose the picture I did is because this is for the Monty Oum Project.**

 **Keep Moving Forward**

 **Published Feb. 4 2017**

...

...

The girl hears herself groan again, the noise apparently enough to cause her to open her eyes. Surprisingly, she sees an unfamiliar white ceiling instead of the blue sky she had been staring at for however long she was floating on the waves.

"Oh? Awake already?" a male voice asks her from nearby.

She tries sitting up to see him, quickly realizing that her muscles feel like they're on fire every time she tries to move. The next thing she notices was an even greater pain searing through her arm, but she doesn't know the cause. " _Maybe… poison?_ "

"Before you start thinking that you're in any danger..." the man interrupts calmly. She hears a chair dragging across the floor before he continues, as if he read her mind. "Yes, the bullets we extracted from you were laced with poison, but that's not the cause of the pain. What you should be feeling right now is an IV drip. For most people, it heals major injuries, but unfortunately… well, you noticed it by now, I assume. In addition, the drug has a tendency to cloud one's judgement, similar to alcohol. Extremely temporary, of course: that aspect wears off within about an hour or so of removing the drip. To counter all of this, we put the patient in a medically induced coma, but apparently you woke up early. "

"Is that all…" the girl hears herself say in a coarse voice.

"Yes, it is. Now, if it's not too much trouble for rescuing you from an almost certain death… who are you? You seem at least partially immune to both forms of medication, as you woke up within two days of what would normally last a week or longer."

She hears herself laugh a bit, and asks "So, the guy who drugged me and left me in some place I don't know about is asking me for my identity before I know anything about my quote-unquote 'savior'? Sketchy much?"

"Ah, yes, I see your point. Very well. I am Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy. I presume you've heard of me before."

"Yeah, I remember reading your name in a few places."

"I see. Now then, since I've offered a bit about myself, may I offer my previous question again?"

She stays silent for a moment or so, simply answering "I go by 'Jade'."

"'Jade', you say? That's quite lovely."

"Thanks, Doc."

"And another question, if I may, why did I find you washed ashore? You could have died, were I not nearby."

"I heard you the first time…" Jade continues to stare at the ceiling, trying to move her focus from place to place; it seems that at the very least, aside from talking, her eyes were still able to move without any pain. "Long story short, I fell off a cliff. Diamondsprings, specifically."

"Diamondsprings… in Vacuo?"

"Yeah… what about it?"

"You were alone out in the ocean, floating along since Vacuo? That… explains the extent of your condition, at least."

"Why? What do you mean?"

"Vacuo… we're currently in Vale. You floated all the way across that much water without any support."

"VALE? YOU SA-OW… SON OF A FU-"

"Yes, yes, you probably shouldn't try to move, lest the IV affect you any more than it already has."

"Nah… I'll be fine… ugh… you said we're in Vale? Perfect… I was actually hoping to find my way here soon enough."

"Really? Why, pray tell?"

"There's… I… I have some things that I need to do here in Vale."

"Ah."

"So, you said you're the Headmaster?"

"Correct."

"By any chance, can you tell me about anywhere decent I can stay while I'm here? Cheap, preferably: I don't have any cash, but I can get some. Although, doing odd jobs Huntress-ing every so often doesn't exactly pay well."

"You… you're a Huntress?"

"Yeah. What, you couldn't feel my aura?"

"No, I couldn't. Not when I found you, at least. And after that, the medications would have nullified it, but least this explains why they wore off so quickly."

"And now you also know why I got myself shot at, eh?"

He stays silent, causing Jade to chuckle a bit at his exasperation. "What's up, Doc? Why'd you shut up?"

"I… it's nothing."

"Come on. I'm lying here, spilling my guts out,"

"Terrible choice of words to use in a hospital, by the way."

"And you have a little bitty secret you can't talk about?" she finishes somewhat playfully.

"Well… you see… first of all, before I mention it, I'd like to know what school you graduated from. It affects the question at hand."

"Huh… well… I never went to school. I'm self trained."

"Self trained? You mean you don't have a Hunter's License?"

"Nah, but nobody ever bothers to check on that anyways. So, what's the issue?"

He sighs deeply and simply says "Our academy doesn't have the right number of freshmen, this time around. No matter how I dealt with it, in our current situation, we're one student short. You actually seem perfect for the opening, since you not only haven't had a formal education, but you also seem to be around the same age as the students. At least, it's not too big of an age gap. In addition, you need a place to live for the time that you're here. However, seeing as you're here in the hospital wing, it doesn't seem like we have that option."

"Oh, I see…" " _Beacon Academy, huh? Good place to keep an eye out, and it gives me an excuse to train. Plus, all around access to Bullheads._ " "What the hell. I'll sign up."

"What? Absolutely not. I just said that you're much too injured."

"Who gives a flying fuck? I'll get better, so ju-"

"There's no time for you to get better. I suppose Glynda could streamline an application for you, of course, but you couldn't get up in time to begin the initiation, much less participate."

"Well, when does it start?"

"In less than half an hour from now."

"Then there's no time to waste. Fuck it, get me out of here!"

"NO. I won't stand for this. Not only is this the drug talking, you're also much too injured to perform the tasks required."

"Gimme five minutes off the damn IV, and I'll be ready to go!"

"Five minutes, eh? Alright… now that you're so insistent, I'll make you a deal. Take out the drip, and get out of bed. If you can do that on your own, then I'll stand aside."

"I… fine." She inhales sharply and tries to sit up, collapsing after a few seconds, her muscles in absolute agony. "AAAGGHHH, DAMN THIS STUPID"

"Like I said, you're much too injured." Ozpin interrupts with the sound of a chair scraping across the floor as Jade continues to scream and curse. "I truly wish you could enroll. You seem like an interesting student, really. But it's better to have three disappointed youngsters than a dead one. Now, I'm off to get another mug of coffee. Shall I bring you one for later?"

Still barely able to breathe, she manages to ask "I… what?"

"Coffee. Would you like some?"

"Uhh… sure, I guess."

"Cream? Sugar?"

"Err… no, I take mine black."

"Marvelous. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Jade hears the sound of a door closing, and waits a few moments before quickly sitting up, and, despite the sudden rush of pain, lifting her arm up to her head. "Ok… it's fine… you can do this…"

 _" Of course, of course… I just hope you heard him say that the meds have been blocking your aura for the past two days."_

 _"Your point?"_

 _" You're getting pissed, which means extra aura. Something's gotta give. Just… it'll be painful."_

 _"You really think I don't know that?"_

The voice makes a noise as if he was shrugging, to say 'I dunno'.

"Fuckin' hell…" she grumbles as she focuses back on the needle inserted in her arm. "Ok… here goes nothing." She closes her eyes and grabs the IV tube with her teeth, trying to pull it out as fast as she can without risking severe damage. The moment that it fully left, she drops it and leans over the side of the bed, unable to hold back the sudden urge to vomit caused by the immense pain. She then throws her face into the pile of pillows under her head, hoping that it would be enough to muffle her screams of agony.

 _" Oh, bra-fucking-VO. You just officially made it so you're more likely to die."_

"Shut up." she groans out loud. "Now… where'd they leave my shit?"

Carefully moving off of the hospital bed, wincing with every step, she realizes that the room was actually pretty decent. "Better than most places, anyway…" After poking around, she finds her satchel shoved in a drawer, its drawstring open. She quickly scans through its contents, pleased to see that in addition to nothing being missing, her clothes were thoroughly cleaned. "Nice to see these guys are hospitable…"

Tearing off the hospital robe, she pulls a roll of bandage tape out of her satchel, wrapping around the IV hole a few times. Sighing, she looks around for a mirror, and checks to see whether the bullet wounds would bleed again: the only remnants of the injuries were white scars, already appearing faded. "Good to go." she mutters to herself as she pulls her outfit from her bag, wishing to whatever deities available that the Headmaster wouldn't show up before she could leave.

 _"The guy doesn't have a buff body or anything, but that aura… and he's gotta have a crazy semblance… not to mention connections with the council… they could call the police over here, and I'd be on the run… AGAIN."_

 _" So… the usual?"_

 _"Fuck you…"_

 _" We're stuck together, so I dunno how that would work."_

As she finishes setting her outfit aside, she takes another moment to look at herself in the mirror. Her once long white hair is now layered with dust, her skin's now grimy, completely caked in dirt and sweat, and her body's thinned to the point where a large portion of her ribs began to show. One might easily call her anorexic: and they wouldn't exactly be wrong.

"Jeez… I look like hell…"

A look back to her face reveals her eyes: blood red, a color symbolic to most. Fear to some, hatred to others. Her Faunus ears stick up above her head and twitch slightly, still painful due to the IV. Those ears always made her easy to identify… easy to target. And her left arm… or at least, what's left of it. She rubs the stump somewhat wistfully, remembering her goal as she looks back up at her face in the mirror.

 _" Well, you certainly were friendly with that Ozpin fellow. So… you done with 'The Feels' yet?"_

 _"Just because you're a joyless psycho bastard doesn't mean that I have to be like that too."_

 _" Emotionless? Tsk tsk tsk, Little Miss Apathy, you forget that I'm constantly happy! Considering, of course, that there's a nice little body in front of me to carve up…"_

Ignoring the last comment, she quickly slips into her outfit and flicks her wrist, testing to see if the aura-blocking aspect of the meds had worn off: nothing happens, and she continues shaking her arm around in rage, desperately hoping that it'll make it wear off faster, only to end up jumping back in shock when her bracelet expands to form her sword's hilt. "No blade yet… but good enough for now."

…

"What the…" the Headmaster mutters as he looks around the near-destroyed room. Drawer shelves were lying everywhere, the bed was soaked with blood, the floor was covered in vomit and what appeared to be the remainder of the IV, and to top it off, the window was flung open, the curtains fluttering in the breeze. "Hmm… as Miss Adel would say… 'I fucked up big-time'..."

...

...

 **Thanks again. And if you're bored of mine already, try Coeur Al'Aran: an excellent RWBY author.**

 **Keep Moving Forward**


	3. Chapter 3: Let's start the show

**OKAY, I SWEAR THAT I MEANT TO UPLOAD THESE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS EARLIER. Honestly, I meant to get at LEAST chapters 3-4 up by Monday afternoon, but my classes were really pushing it: I kid you not, EVERYTHING was scheduled during this week, and I had almost zero free time. It's almost as if the teachers coordinated this to make it Hell Week… I mean, Wednesday alone, I had a test in every class, followed by an essay due, followed by preparations for another in-class essay the next day, so that should just show a bit of the panic that I was feeling… TLDR, I was busy, and didn't have the free time to do this, so… sorry. Anyways, enough about me bitching about my academic life. Now, where were we? Ah, yes: FanFiction. Ahem. Like I mentioned earlier (back in the chapter 1 header), I have some chapters written (currently trying to wrap up 8), with some minor (?) edits still necessary. I'm working on it though, so don't worry. However, once those are up, it'll take a lot longer to push out new chapters, and I'm not going to promise any schedule. Sorry again. And before I forget, some quick shoutouts:**

 **Ultra Darkness: [first follow]**

 **I was actually REALLY surprised at how fast you guys liked this fic. I mean, seriously, I got a notification saying you followed ten minutes after uploading. TEN. MINUTES. That's just insane, and I want to say thanks for the confidence booster.**

 **CaTastrophe427: [friend/proofreader]**

 **Thanks for being a wall to bounce ideas off of, and special thanks for ACTUALLY DOING WHAT YOU AGREED TO DO. Seriously, three of my other friends agreed to read and give comments (1: they ARE RWBY fans, so there. 2: they all really liked the plan I had for this), and between the three of them, one of them talks to me in class about it every once in a while, one of them sends suggestions while also asking for ideas for his own stuff (would endorse, but I dunno if he's published anything on here or not), and the last guy doesn't do jack shit. So, yeah, thanks a bunch for helping out (honestly, not being sarcastic).**

 **yozzer4: [friend]**

 **I know you don't follow the RWBY-verse, but thanks for reading anyways.**

 **And last but certainly not least,**

 **Moth3rly Lov3: [first favorite/first review]**

 **I have to say, SERIOUS thanks to you. I'm glad you like it so far, and I hope you guys keep on liking it all the way to the end… actually, now I'm sad… I'm planning on following the RWBY canon to the end with this… and I don't want RWBY to end. Oh well. C'est la vie. In any case, although there may be some serious cheesiness in here, and some commonly used tropes (come on, EVERY OC is a Faunus nowadays), to respond to your final comment, yes, I'm happy writing this, even more so now that I know others like it too.**

 **Digression aside, one final thanks to those who've been reading and haven't said anything. I hope this fic turns into something that everyone will continue to enjoy.**

 **Keep Moving Forward**

 **Published Feb. 11 2017**

...

...

Glynda Goodwitch sighs as the students are launched from the cliff, turning on her tablet the moment they leave her field of view.

"YO! Lady! Is this the initiation place?" a girl's voice rings out through the trees. The Headmistress turns around and sees a young Faunus girl with dull white hair and a missing arm running out of the forestry behind them.

"The… yes. Who are you?"

"New student. Sorry. Got caught up in the hospital wing for a decent chunk of time, but I'm ready to go now."

"A new student?" she repeats. "Hmm… I don't recall seeing your image in the directory…"

"Oh, Ozpin let me in, what, ten minutes ago? He said that I could join, since you guys are missing a student."

"He. Did. WHAT?!"

"Don't worry, I can handle myself. Now, he also mentioned a 'Glynda' somebody-or-other who could push my papers through."

"Did he now… fortunately for you, that would be me: I am Headmistress Glynda Goodwitch. Of course I _could_ do all that, but I need to see proof that you're capable of surviving something like this before I even consi-"

 _WHOOSH_.

Something flies past her left cheek, making her flinch as she looks back at the girl, who had suddenly summoned a bow, and was somehow pulling the glowing string back despite not coming into contact with it at all. The string falls back into its original position, and the girl flicks her wrist, which is apparently the command for the weapon to collapse. Glynda sees a brief flash of black and green fade somewhere in front of her, leaving her wondering if her eyes are playing tricks on her.

"Trust me, I can take care of myself."

"Erm… you don't look like you're in the greatest condition at the moment."

"Ozpin said I could join, and I just showed you skills that I usually save for Grimm. Can we get on with this?"

The older woman groans at her boss' lax attitude and opens a new tab on her tablet. "Fine. We _are_ a student short, after all. But let me tell you right now, that's the ONLY reason I'm doing this on such short notice. And of course, we reserve the right to terminate the results of your initiation, should we feel that you are unable to keep up."

"Relax, will ya? Look, I'll be fine."

"Very well, if you insist. Now, your name?"

"Jade."

"Your _full_ name, please."

The Faunus hesitates, muttering "Jade Fae. F-A-E."

"All right then. Age?"

"Nineteen."

"A little old to be entering such a school, now aren't you?" A video feed pops up at the edge of the tablet, and she sighs, waving the girl off.

"Unfortunately, the remainder of the interview will have to wait until later, as the initiation began right before you came. Now then, the rules are simple: retrieve a relic from the Forest Temple, on the other side of the Emerald Forest beneath us. You will be launched down using our launch pads, and you'll have to improvise a landing strategy. Do not hesitate to kill any Grimm in your path or you _will_ die. I'll be grading your performance, but I will not intervene, even in the case of a possible death. Once you have the relic, come back to the cliffs as quickly as you can, for I wouldn't advise staying in the forest for any more time than is necessary."

"So… that's it? We get graded on treasure hunting and killing Grimm? Piece of cake." the girl says nonchalantly as she steps on one of the launch pads and falls into a defensive stance.

"One other thing…" Glynda adds as she preps the pad.

"What is it?"

"Since our school focuses on building teamwork, you will have a partner during your time at the academy. Your partner will be the first person you make eye contact with. Good luck."

"PARTNER?! HEY, I never agr-WHOAAAA" Jade cries out as she falls below the treetops.

"Now then… where in HELL is Ozpin?!"

...

...

 **Short chapter, I know. But, with the long intro, it's a bit lengthier, so… balance? Ok, in any case, chapter 4 should follow this pretty soon.**

 **Keep Moving Forward**


	4. Chapter 4: Initiation

**Not much else to add: thanks to the few new readers, still working on editing the next few chapters. Hopefully this chapter adds just a bit more to the plot for you guys.**

 **But, on a topic aside from this fic, I wanted to challenge myself by doing a Valentine's day RWBY quick write. So, I sent out a poll on my general RWBY FaceBook group earlier today (in addition to various friend's opinions) to see which ship I should write a one-shot about. I'm still going to wait until tomorrow afternoon to see the final results, but it's currently between Arkos and Flower Power. In all honesty, it's probably going to end up being Arkos: people in the fandom tend to go nuts over anything Pyrrha-related. Anyways, thanks again for reading.**

 **Keep Moving Forward**

 **Published Feb. 13 2017**

...

...

"PARTNER?! HEY, I never agr-WHOAAAA!" Jade screams as the pad flings her head first into the forest below.

She grimaces and summons her shield, breaking through tree branch after tree branch until she reaches a clearing. With a flick of her wrist, the shield dematerializes, and the base immediately began to change its form into that of a sword hilt, the blade erupting outwards a few moments later. She plunges the sword into the ground in an attempt to stop her momentum, slowing down only slightly before the blade shatters, leaving only the hilt in her hand. "Well… fuck." she mutters quietly, continuing to move until flying face first directly into a tree.

"Owww… that fuckin' hurt… hey, Goodwitch, what was that about partners again?! I know you can hear me! You said you're gonna monitor us, so you have to be able to hear me right now. Hey, ANSWER ME!" She waits a few moments in the same spot, and sighs, realizing that she wasn't going to get a response.

"Just so you know…" she grumbles as she stands up and dusts herself off. "I prefer working alone."

…

She buckles over and begins coughing again, the impact having jarred her lungs.

"Fuck… third time…" she groans a few minutes later as she gets up and continues walking. "Why's the thing gotta start acting up now… and for the millionth time, why don't I have a better nose if I'm a cat? Can't smell a damn thing around here…"

"HELLLOO! IS SOMEBODY OUT THERE?" a voice calls out from somewhere in the treetops.

Instinctively, she morphs her bracelet into its bow form and pulls the drawstring back, only realizing what she just heard after doing so.

"If somebody's out there, I'm stuck in one of these trees… can you help me down?"

She hesitates, but aims slightly above where the sound was coming from and fires. A branch shatters with a decent amount of noise, and another young girl came falling down, screaming the entire way.

"You ok?"

"I… I guess… thanks."

The dust clears, and Jade sees the pint sized girl in front of her, probably not even over five feet tall.

"So, have you found anyone else yet?" the girl asks.

Jade takes a closer look at her clothes and sees that her entire wardrobe seems to be combat-based designer materials. A look farther up reveals pale skin, deep green eyes, and neon blue hair.

"Well?"

"What? Oh, sorry. No, you're the first."

"So, we're partners then?"

"Technically, yes. But let me just tell you now, I fly solo. Feel free to do what you want, I'm leaving."

She turns to leave, but feels her lungs begin to flame up, immediately causing her to buckle down and collapse.

"Hey, are you ok?! What's wrong?"

Jade finishes coughing a few moments later and scowls, upset at her sudden bout of illness. "No clue…" she lies. "Allergies, maybe?"

"That doesn't sound like an allergy. Wait a second, I'm going to try something."

The girl sneaks up against her back and jams her palm between Jade's shoulder blades, forcing her to cough even harder until something flies out. Upon closer inspection, it was a piece of bark, presumably from the tree she had been flung into before. "You ok now?"

"I guess... thanks."

"Why was there a piece of tree bark in your throat?"

"Why? I dunno, I guess I must've accidentally bitten off some when I ran into a tree a while back."

"Why'd you run into a tree?"

"I couldn't help it, it's where I got launched. You know, you sure have a lot of dumb questions, pipsqueak."

"HEY, DON'T CALL ME PIPSQUEAK! IT'S SKYLA! SKYLA O'LEARY, of the great O'Leary medical company!"

"..."

"..."

"Haven't you guys been going under lately?"

…

" _Gotta find Yang, gotta find Yang… wait, who do I know at this school? There's Yang, and Jaune, and Blake, and…_ "

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Wait, where are you going?! We're supposed to be teammates…"

…

"Jaune? Do you… have any spots left on your team?"

"Very funny."

They stay silent for a while, only to have the silence broken by Jaune asking "So… you want your spear back?"

…

A young girl in a black jumpsuit rolls to the side of the Beowolf, hoping to attack its blind spot, when a gigantic rock shaped like a fist appears out of nowhere and sends the Grimm flying into another girl's fist. She could see that, once the Grimm dissolved, the stone fist is covered in spikes. The new girl, easily clearing 6'5" with a build like a professional wrestler, picks her up by the collar and places her gently back on the ground, grinning as she did.

"Yo. You my new partner?"

She slowly nods, somewhat afraid of what the other girl might try to do. However, before she could react, the other girl grabs her and holds her in a bear hug probably strong enough to break a rock.

"Well then. The name's Dolores Magdalene Vermillion, or DMV for short. Everyone calls me 'Sloth' though, 'cause, you know? Nobody gets through the DMV easy. Plus, kinda irony too, cause I can zip around really really fast, and"

"Erm, Dolores?"

"Oh, YEAH, I forgot to ask about you! What's your name?!"

"Ni… Nicole… Nicole Vanta… and… you may be crushing me, just a bit…"

"Oh, whoops."

...

...

 **And we have the main cast! Or, at least some of them… the rest'll show up within the next two chapters. Another chapter of Initiation after that, and it's the legendary 'chapter 8' that I've had a hard time getting around to: yikes. Although, I'm sure you guys will love that one.**

 **Keep Moving Forward**


	5. Chapter 5: The Emerald Forest, part I

**Hey guys: me again. Well, first off, I'd like to say that a month sure went by faster than I thought it would. It's been great getting so many people reading my material. Granted, it's not as many as I would've hoped, but it's definitely more than I would've expected when I started writing, or even publishing this. So just a quick thanks to everyone who's PMed, read and commented, read and favorited, read and followed, or just read. I appreciate it a lot. A special thanks to the French guy (yes, the traffic graphs show the countries) who's been going back every day this month to reliably check on whether or not I've added any more. Unfortunately, Je ne parle pas le Français. Hope I spelled that right. Ok… what else… sorry for not getting back to this in a while. Just… life, am I right? Heh. Jokes aside, I've been bouncing around the details to Jade's abilities, and while the general plot won't be affected by the details, her actions certainly will, so that's something I've been dealing with. In addition, I've made a minor edit to Ozpin's dialogue in chapter 2. Nothing changes, just fixing the grammar. Oh, starting in this chapter, fonts will become more plentiful, so the details will be important: here's a quick guide for what we have so far.**

"Speech, Text"

" _Thoughts, Internal Dialogue_ "

" _The Voice_ " (will be revealed steadily, but later on)

" **Flashbacks** "

 **Also, last thing: remember how I said in the last header that I had one proofreader who wouldn't do much and only ask for help with his own stuff? Yeah, scratch that. He's still asking for help, but he's also been helping me with the details to this recently, so shoutout to that. And I'm gonna stop right there, because if I add anything else, this may just be longer than the chapter itself.**

 **Keep Moving Forward**

 **Published Mar. 4 2017**

 **...**

 **...**

"So, why'd you crash into that tree again?"

"Couldn't control my landing speed."

"How come I didn't see you with the other freshmen?"

"Came in late."

"What about your arm?"

"What about it?"

"It's been amputated."

"I know."

"How come?"

"Mistakes."

"Does that kinda injury happen to _all_ Hunters? Does _everyone_ get some physical limitation?"

"You sure as hell better hope not…"

"What about your semblance? What can you do?"

"Don't like talking about it."

"Really? It's gotta be _suuuper_ cool considering your skills. I mean, really, it is, right?"

Jade scowls and turns back to face the girl, who's still blabbering on about various topics. "Ok, you're starting to piss me off. Just so you know, I'm only with you because you kinda saved me back there." She turns back around and starts walking again, quickly adding "So, if you wanna start getting 'chummy', you're gonna have to start quitting with the questions, 'cause I'm not in the _MOTHERFUCKING_ mood…"

"Should you be swearing right now? I mean, we're still teenagers."

"Uggghhh… what'd I just say about the questions?!"

"Ok… oh, but I have one more."

"Fuck me… fine. What?"

"Why don't you like working with others? I mean, don't friends and teamwork make things easier?"

" **Teamwork… friendship… camaraderie… all are simply the words of those so weak as to sacrifice others in a pathetic attempt to save themselves.** "

She stops in her tracks, the memory leaving her mind as suddenly as it entered. "Sometimes… it's better to work alone." she whispers quietly. "You can't be held accountable if you were never involved, after all."

Her heart begins pounding in her ears as another memory resurfaces. " **But you… you will all become strong, and triumph over those who cling to such foolishness. To attain the power that you deserve.** " She clutches her head in mild discomfort, and keeps walking. "Never mind that. We need to find the temple, and a higher point of view is always a great place to start. I'll just climb that tree over there, and"

"Higher view point?" Skyla interrupts behind her. "Don't worry, you can just leave it to me!" Jade turns around to see that the other girl had bent down, before watching her leap into the air, high above the treetops.

"The fuck?"

"Couldn't see anything." Skyla says disappointingly as she falls back down. "Hold on, let me try again." She continues bouncing through the top layer, only bothering to talk once she falls back down. "Nope. Still. Can't. See. Anything. Wait. I might. Have it…" She drops back down and falls over, apparently worn out from the activity.

"That was… impressive. What was that?"

"That? Um… that… was my semblance. I can… control gravity."

"Really?"

"Yeah, yeah. But… erm, I'm not very good. You see… my parents wanted me to stay in the family business. You know, become a doctor, and all that stuff. But once they found out that I qualified for Hunter-prep-school, they immediately shut down the idea. I had to pretend to do what they wanted, and study medicine. But whenever I had the chance, I would… go out and practice my Huntress skills. I didn't really have many opportunities, actually, but I managed to land a place here at Beacon."

"So, your parents changed their mind and let you come?"

"No. I… my dad said he would disown me if I went. 'I'd probably end up dying anyways,' he said, 'so it doesn't make a difference when he cuts his losses.'"

"That's… that's awful. Why would he be so cruel?"

" _Bit rhetorical, don't you think?_ "

She feels another memory flood back, causing her to stumble back in surprise.

" **You miserable wretch! Get back here! I'm not done with you!** "

" **Please… no more…** "

" **I'LL BE THE ONE TO SAY WHEN YOU'VE HAD ENOUGH!** "

" _AGH! You PRICK!_ "

" _Yeah, yeah, love you too._ "

Turning back to the girl in front of her, she sits down and lays on her back, looking up at the sky through the small opening in the trees above. "I… I kinda know how you feel. I… I ran away too. Had to learn how to survive on my own."

"That sounds hard. My mom said she would just send me some cash in the mail every now and then to help me out, cause she's the, you know, supportive one."

They both stay quiet for a moment more, only breaking the silence as Skyla rolls herself upright and points behind them. "I don't know if it was the temple, but I saw something weird over there, way in the distance."

"Weird? Like what?"

"If I knew, I'd tell you."

"Well, what'd it look like?"

"Like something that wasn't a tree."

"Huh. Well, that's probably our best bet."

"Again, _why_ can't you just sniff it out? Don't lots of Faunus have enhanced senses?"

"Ok, first of all, I already told you, I wasn't born with an enhanced nose, so I can't smell anything like that. Secondly, even if I could, I've heard that stone isn't that exceptional, so it would still be hard to track."

"It was just a thought… are you going to get up now?"

"Yeah, sure."

…

"So… does _everyone_ call you Sloth?" Nicole asks as the larger girl pockets the pawn figurine they found.

"Yeah. And to boot, everyone in my family's a religious nut. 'Cept me. Makes it even harder to avoid a 'sins' nickname, but, what the hell. Anyways, no use believing in something if I can't see it, am I right?"

"I guess."

"So, enough about me, what about you? What can you do?"

"Me? Um… my semblance is shadow control. I can make someone temporarily blind… doesn't work on Grimm though… my shadows can become physical matter, which I can attack with, and they can even block incoming attacks, even if I don't realize there's something going on. But, it takes a while for the pre-cog to prepare itself again."

Without warning, the world goes dark for both of them, Sloth quickly crying out "What did you just do?! Awesome, but kinda terrifying."

"That wasn't me, that was…"

Her eyes widen as she processes what just happened, her hands reaching for the daggers at her waist. "We're under attack. Get ready."

She can hear her partner's booming laugh as she asks "Attack, eh? Fine by me. HUMAN OR GRIMM, BEWARE THE WRATH OF THE VERMILLION COUNTER!"

The shadows vanish back into the ground, leaving Nicole confused, unable to see the threat. A sudden hissing noise behind them alert the huntresses-in-training to the threat, barely able dodge as acid is sprayed all over the forest floor.

"Erm… Sloth? Do you know if Grimm are supposed to get that big? Or that fancy?" she asks nervously as the Taijitu slowly uncoils itself in front of them.

"I don't know about that, but I know we can take it. After all, a Vermillion never backs down from a fight!" She walks up to the Grimm and yells "LEAVE NOW, OR WITNESS THE SEMBLANCE THAT HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN THROUGH THE VERMILLION FAMILY FOR GENERATIONS!"

The monster hisses again, almost laughing, and lunges, barely warded off by a giant stone fist that burst from the ground beneath its head.

"Oh, you liked that? Well, good for you, 'cause I've got a lot more where that came from!"

 **...**

 **...**

 **Like I said, it was kinda short. However, I'm currently trying to wrap up the editing on chapter 6, and the actual writing for chapter 8. Honestly, when you see it, it's probably not going to be that impressive, but nonetheless, it's been an absolute pain in my ass. The only upside to working on that chapter for so long is that I get to listen to RLR II basically all the time, and who doesn't like RLR II? As per usual, I'd appreciate a review: just a simple "enjoyed it", or "thanks" will do. And before I forget, thanks to everyone who supported 'Cupid's Arrow': I may just do other challenge fics in the future. Thanks for reading, and until next time.**

 **Keep Moving Forward**


	6. Chapter 6: The Emerald Forest, part II

" **Just the usual summer vacation spot, Lake Trump is 'yuge', arguably the biggest and greatest spot ever. The family, relaxing on the sandy beach, is having a nice time, until one of the kids spots something rising out of the water. The entire beach panics as they realize that it's a zombie, tangled in kelp and completely bloated from the time spent decomposing in the water. Everyone evacuates, and the corpse slowly shuffles along, going into the beach store and grabbing the phone off of the extension on the wall. It reaches into its pocket and inserts the coins, dialing 1(800)FAN-FICS. With an inward grin, it speaks for the first time in decades. 'I'm back, bitches'"**

 **Ok, in all seriousness, WOW. It's been a while since I updated, huh? What is it… three months? Geez. One quarter of the year is gone, with minimal time put in on this in the meanwhile. I swear, I didn't mean for this to take this long: back in March, I meant to publish some more stuff a week after the last one, but we had SATs that weekend [#fuckyouEmerson, spread the word], and then it was just test after test after project after test after project after project after… you get where I'm going with this. And since finals ended yesterday for me, I wanted to do something ASAP… but I spent the time level-grinding my 3-star Narcian on Fire Emblem Heroes instead. On a quick side note, did anyone manage to get all three of the mission orbs? I could only get the one for Alfonse, and 'clear with Narcian on your team': if you got the last one, I'd appreciate a PM so we could discuss strategy. And speaking of FE, how in $ &*% are we supposed to get the '10th stratum with Armor Emblem' orbs?! I mean, even clearing the Lunatic Camus was easier than that!**

 **Ok, ok, too much of a tangent here. Back to this fucker. I hope to publish more often, now that I have free time (whoo, vacation!), but something tells me this might be the summer I have to start working, so as usual, I won't make any guarantees. But, TLDR, thanks for tuning back in, and I hope you guys will continue to enjoy my stuff.**

 **Keep Moving Forward**

 **Published June 2 2017**

 **...**

 **...**

Jade shoots out her arm, blocking Skyla from going forward, concentrating on moving the ears on top of her head.

"Jade? What's the -"

"Grimm." she interrupts. "Lots of them. Beowolves, I think."

"You can tell what they are just from hearing them?" A loud howl rips through the forest as she finishes asking the question.

"When they're this loud… happy thoughts."

"What now?"

"Think happy thoughts. Anything to keep them away. We don't want to get slowed down."

Nervously, Skyla closes her eyes and focuses on her family, and the time they spent together. A warm, fuzzy feeling races down her back, causing her to smile at the thought. She waits, and opens her eyes when she hears the howls fade in the distance.

"They're gone…" she mumbles as she looks up at her partner. Curiously, she notices that Jade is wearing a set of cordless earbuds on her human ears, and her Faunus ears are pressed down on her head. Skyla tugs on her partner's sweater sleeve, the Faunus' eyes opening as she pulls out her earbuds.

"They're gone." Skyla says again. Frowning, Jade's cat ears twitch as she looks around at the trees around them.

"They're not just gone, they ran off in the other direction, as if called… what the hell could've attracted them like that in a group of cocky teenagers?"

…

"Erm… Ruby?" Weiss calls out hesitantly, screaming as the pack of Beowolves crawl out from the shrubbery surrounding her.

…

"WHAT?! YOU WANT SOME TOO?!"

 _SHHNNNKK_

Blake grins smugly as the Ursa dissipates between them.

"..."

"..."

"Hmph. I coulda taken it."

…

"Now, about your semblance. What else can you do?"

"What do you mean?"

Jade turns around and looks down at Skyla, still partially amused at how much she has to tilt her head to look at the girl's face.

"What do you mean, 'what do I mean'? You're saying that you only know how to jump higher with it?"

"I mean… yeah. It's gravity. I can jump and do martial arts. What else is there?"

"Well, for starters, you can reduce the weight of heavy objects and throw them around as if you had super strength. You could make falling objects hit harder by increasing their gravity. There's all sorts of other things, if you just know the physics behind it."

"I… uh… I never studied physics, actually… mostly chemistry and physiology…"

"Figures, for a medical company heiress. Ok, crash course: gravity is the force that one object uses to attract another object, and it's more or less constant. Long story short, if you can change the way that the acceleration affects an object, you can change the amount of force required to lift and throw something, you can change the time necessary for something to drop, and the force of an object's impact. You get all of that?"

"Not really, but wow. Where'd you learn that?"

"I read. A lot. I'm usually in a library whenever I need a place to hang out, so why not?"

Jade flinches as the sound of a gunshot erupts in her ears, her eyes and ears darting around to try and find the source of the danger. "Another team ran into some Grimm, it seems…"

"And there's some smoke coming from over there!"

Her nose twitches as she scowls at being unable to notice the smoke, barely paying attention to the younger girl running past her.

"We have to get moving! The other teams need help!"

"Can you even fight though?"

"We have to help them! Now, come on!"

"No, we need to get to the temple. Honestly, as long as they know how to use their aura, they should be fine."

"What do you mean, 'use it'? It's easy! Just don't get hit, but you'll be fine if you do, right?"

"You… I'm seriously surprised that you managed to pass the exit exams…"

…

Ren brushes the dust off his shoulders, not even flinching as Nora makes random animal noises from the trees above him.

"Nora… I still don't think that's what a sloth sounds like…"

"Nora Valkyrie is unavailable at the moment." she says in a robotic voice. "Please leave a message at the Boop."

"The _what_ now?"

"Boop." she repeats, tapping him on the nose as she hangs from a branch by her legs.

 **...**

 **...**

 **A bit short, I'll admit, but still, it progresses the plot. Since the rest of the Emerald Forest arc is basically set in stone in the canon, there's not much to do. Just the Grimm fight at the end (ch. 8), and we jump to the formation of teams. Now, since the next chapter (last chapter until the fight) is pretty short, I plan to have it up within the week (no promises), and hopefully ch. 8 within the same timeframe (even fewer promises). Again, thanks to those of you who've stuck around this long, and more thanks to those of you who've just joined up. Comment/follow/fav. if you liked, and I hope to see you around in the next video. Buh-bye! Wait… wrong outro… shit.**

 **Keep Moving Forward**

 **Also, really quick, what do you guys think about the tense? Most fics are in past, this one's currently in present, but if it makes it more convenient for you guys it wouldn't be that hard to correct. Let me know in the comments: I wanna hear your opinions.**


	7. Chapter 7: The gang's all here

**HOLY BALLS, GUYS, WTF HAPPENED TO 'ONE WEEK'?! OK, life happened, but you've been waiting for FAR too long, so I'll cut the intro as much as possible. SPEEDRUN, BOIZ, LET'S GO!**

 **FE Heroes: Getting better. The Tempest feature is nice, but the rewards that a F2P can reasonably get are all terrible, for both Tempests. I finally got back to Awakening, and it's a lot better than I remember. Probably because I now know how to actually play the game (TY Heroes), but that's beside the point.**

 **Anime: Watched a lot of stuff recently, most notably Youjo Senki (Saga of Tanya the Evil). If you haven't seen it, I HIGHLY recommend it.**

 **YouTube: MiniLadd, Terroriser, Sagemaster15. All I'm gonna say.**

 **RWBY: MYGODILOVEDTHESOUNDTRACKSOMUCHYOUREALLYHAVETOGETONTOTHATASSOONASPOSSIBLEGOGOGOIVEBEENLISTENINGTOBADLUCKCHARMANDTHISLIFEISMINEBASICALLYNONSTOP**

 **Other: Finally getting around to driving. WAY too late, according to some people, but the number of fucks I give equals the number of Sasuke's living relatives at the time of Shippuuden EP 500.**

 **The fic: I'm gonna be using a metric FUCKTON of references in this, so watch out for that. They'll range from references to other shows/movies, to language puns, to foreshadowing the canon, to YouTubers, to real life, etc. Basically, odds are there'll be stuff for a lot of people. For example, in ch. 5 (I think?), I made a crack at the DMV. In this chapter's case, two main ones, and since I'm only now releasing this info, I'll make this one easier for you guys. Example explanation: I really loved Mirai Nikki (Future Diaries), and loved the soundtrack about as much. So, I was listening to various covers on YT, and decided to look up some of the details in the OP, leading me to name Skyla's weapon. The other reference… it should be pretty easy, but I'll say it in the opening for the next chapter. However, from that point on, I may or may not throw in a reference for you guys, and say that the first person to find it (message or comment) will be mentioned somewhere in the fic. CaTastrophy (proofreader), you don't count. Anyway, it won't be every chapter, but just occasionally.**

 **I said I was gonna cut it down, I just expanded the opening… fuck it, let's go.**

 **Keep Moving Forward**

 **Published July 15 2017**

 **...**

 **...**

"Wonderful. The partnerships have been officially made." Ozpin murmurs deliriously as he pours himself another cup of coffee from his hip flask.

"Yes, yes… wonderful. That new student does not seem to like the idea of teamwork though."

"I have the feeling that she'll be changing her tune in the near future."

"Hm. Tell me again, why exactly did you let her join?"

"I told you, I didn't expect her to actually do it. She surprised me is all."

"I see. Ozpin, how many times have I told you to never underestimate youth?"

"Uhh… let's see… there was… and then… oh… and that…"

"What exactly did you put in this stuff anyway?" she asks as she grabs the mug from his hands. "Is this where the Forever Fall sap keeps disappearing to?"

"This? No, I use the sap for something… special. This, this is simply nothing short of a miracle." he says, somehow holding a brand new mug.

"Errr… do I even want to know?"

"Most likely not."

"Very well then. Now, I've noticed that the majority of the cameras have been glitching on and off since the exam began. In addition, the camera in sector eight has been reporting static for the past ten minutes."

"Hmm…"

"What do you recommend?"

"Hmmm…"

"Shall I send Bartholomew down to check on them?"

"Hmmmm…"

"Ozpin… WAKE THE HELL UP!"

 **…**

"Hmmm… how 'bout a cute little pony?"

"Sure…"

"Great! That wasn't too hard."

A loud scream rings out through the air, sending a shiver down Yang's spine as she flinches backwards towards her partner. "Some girl's in trouble! Blake, you heard that, right?! Please tell me you heard that!"

 **…**

"OH, WHY?! PYRRHA! PYRRHA, HELP! PYRRHA, THIS IS ** _NOT_ ** THE RELIC! IT'S NOT! PYRRHA, DO SOMETHING!"

"Jaune! Whatever you do, don't let… go… ahem… hehe…"

 **…**

"Blake, what should we do? Blake?"

"I don't exa-"

"HEADS UP!" a voice calls out from above them. To Blake, the red and black haired girl falling down from what appears to be a giant Nevermore wasn't concerning in the slightest.

"RUBY! STAY CALM!"

Her partner, on the other hand…

"BLAKE! WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING! MY SISTER'LL GET SQUISHED!"

"Meh, I wouldn't worry about it." Blake assures her partner as she reaches to her back for Gambol Shroud.

"What? Why?!"

With a snort, she snarks "Well, if this were a superhero movie, something else would come in last second to save the day."

"Like what?! What could POSSIBLY SAVE HER HERE?!"

"I dunno, probably something stupid."

A loud thud and two loud groans come from the treetop to the left of where Ruby would've fallen, leaving Blake to realize that, despite the fact that she was making a gigantic joke, her prediction came true.

"Oh. Hi, Jaune."

"Well damn girl, you weren't kidding." Yang mutters under her breath, stomping over to the tree, likely to thank and then pulverize whoever saved/hurt her sister. Probably not in that particular order.

"Could today get any weirder?" Blake asks herself, readjusting Gambol Shroud's handle.

"HELLO FRIENDO, don't give us the endo!" a high pitched voice calls out from right next to her. Panicking, she swivels her head to see a ginger haired girl holding onto Gambol Shroud, mimicking a stabbing motion with it.

"NORA!"

"Oh, coming, Ren!" As soon as she appeared, she seemingly teleported to the other side of the clearing, onto… an Ursa Major, collapsed onto the ground. And someone else collapsed onto it. "Aww… it's broken…" the girl sobs as she pulls out a giant hammer and begins tapping the downed Grimm.

"NORA!" the now visible boy sputters as he stands up, clutching his stomach. "Please… don't ever do that again… wha… NORA!"

"'I'm queen of the castle, I'm queen of the castle!'" she sings randomly from the ruins, having seemingly teleported over again.

"NORA!"

"Oh, coming, Ren!"

"Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?" Yang asks her partner, having just pulled Ruby out of the tree.

"I… er…"

With a loud scoff, the blonde cocks her gauntlets and crosses her arms. "Well, it's dead, anyways. At least it can't get any crazier."

Another loud roar alerts them to a large Deathstalker chasing a redheaded student, somehow barely able to outrun it.

"Did she just run all the way here with a _Deathstalker_ on her tail?!" Blake asks nobody in particular, stunned at the girl's endurance. An explosion next to the Faunus catches her off guard, causing her to jump backwards.

"Oh, COME ON!" Yang roars, hair and eyes blazing. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?! WHO'S IDEA WAS IT TO PUT THE GOAL IN A PLACE WHERE EVERY GRIMM IN THE AREA CAN KILL US AT ONCE?! AND PLEASE, PEOPLE, CAN WE JUST HAVE **_TWO LOUSY SECONDS_** WITHOUT SOMETHING HAPPENING?!"

"Um, Yang?" Ruby stutters, tapping on her sister's shoulder.

"WHAT?!"

"Weiss is still riding that Giant Nevermore."

"She's gonna fall." Blake notes.

"What?"

"I said 'she's gonna fall'..."

"Well… she'll be fine..."

"She's falling." the raven haired boy notes.

"Oh."

With a loud OOMPH, Weiss lands in front of them. On top of the blond screwup. In that instant, a loud rumble from across the field launches the redhead on top of the pile.

"Great." Yang remarks, cracking her knuckles. "Everyone's here. Now we can die _TOGETHER_."

 **…**

"Aura is the manifestation of our souls. It's… our mental energy turned physical, if you want to think of it like that. The more we understand ourselves, the more powerful we become. And although emotions can provide a boost in spiritual energy, provided that they're strong enough, the main thing is mental strength, to make sure you're able to control yourself. But balance is key. You can't believe you're invincible, or else your aura will reflect your thoughts and become weaker. Convoluted… twisted… demented. Or, in other words, unusable. Get the picture?"

"What does this have to do with pinning me down?"

Jade scowls at her partner, and points to the spear stabbed into the ground. " _THAT_. You can't fight if you only think of your aura as a fucking shield."

"I… I can fight! You saw the smoke, we-"

" _WE_ don't need to do anything! Our job is to find the relic and go back. That. Is. IT. You don't get involved in other people's affairs unless you know _EXACTLY_ how to do it, so unless you know the attack patterns of the Grimm in this forest, the current mindsets of the other applicants, _AND_ their fighting styles, you should stay the hell away!"

"But-"

"No buts!"

" _Hehe._ "

"Just because you have some cheap, store-bought weapon does _NOT_ mean that you know what you're doing."

"Sto-... _Dii Consentes_ is fully functional! And for your information, I've _trained_ with it!"

" **Remember! Your weapon is only a very small portion of what makes a warrior! You must learn to predict everything your opponent does. Or else, you die. Simple as that.** "

"YOU HAVEN'T DONE **_ANYTHING!_** " she cries out. A black and green spark shoots out of her fingertips. It was only visible for a split second, but it causes her to flinch, just enough for Skyla to push Jade off of her and scramble away before Jade realizes what happened.

" _Whoops. My bad. Nothing nearby though._ " Cautiously, she readies her arm and darts her head around, trying to detect any traces of Grimm, before slowly lowering her wrist.

Looking to the side, the bluenette is pulling her weapon out of the ground, frowning as she pulls a lever on its side, causing the spear's head to retract and be replaced. Sighing, Jade stands back up and faces her partner. "Look, I'm sorry for being harsh, but I'll say it again. It's not a good idea to rush into a situation without knowing what's going on. And besides, the smoke's clearing up, and you can't hear any more gunfire. They were probably able to handle themselves."

"Oh. Well, I guess you're right."

"And to boot, we would've had to go in the exact opposite direction, which would've reduced our own chances of getting through the challenge. What do you think would've happened if the relics were gone by the time we got there?"

"You've made your point, you don't have to drag us down into the doom and gloom."

A loud howl pierces the air, Jade summoning her sword off of instinct. She looks down, and chuckles at Skyla's sheepish expression. "Should I assume that was your stomach?" Not even bothering to look at her partner, Jade goes over to one of the trees next to them and swings her sword into it a few times until a few chunks of bark fall off. Stabbing her sword into the ground, she picks up the scraps and throws it at Skyla.

"You want me to _eat_ this?"

"I've seen these trees before, the bark is fine. People can't eat the leaves, but no poison in the bark."

"I'm sorry, _poison_?!"

"What, you didn't know that? You're the medical nut, isn't this part of training?"

"No… since when is eating plants considered training?"

" _Identifying_ plants, nitwit."

"Oh. Eh, not particularly."

Jade shrugs and sits down, laying her back against the tree.

" _Weather sure is nice today…_ "

" _Seen better. Say, you seem awfully chatty every since the prez pumped you with that stuff._ "

" _The medicine?_ " She frowns at her recollection of the meeting, biting her lip trying to remember the dialogue.

" _Even worse, your memory's shot. That stuff seems to have screwed with your system._ "

" _He_ did _say it messes with the user… but it can't be that bad._ "

" _Oh? When's the last time you forgot something? When's the last time you talked with someone this deeply? About yourself? Telling the_ TRUTH _, no less? When's the last time you showed off Zetsu to a nobody? Hell, when's the last time you attacked a kid?_ "

Her frown deepens into a scowl. " _I… I-_ "

" _That stuff's fucked you up, big time. I know I screwed up and took the mask off back in Vacuo, but this could get you in serious trouble. I mean, if you die, I'm going along with, and then if we escaped from wherever, we'd be on the news, and_ "

" _I get it, I get it…_ " she grumbles, scowl beginning to lift. " _Ok, you actually seem like you're trying to help for once. What's your plan?_ "

" _Finally, I get a say in this. Erm… well, you need to burn it out of your system. And if you insist on going to those ruins, then just use your semblance._ "

Her grimace returns almost immediately after hearing the suggestion. " _No. I can't risk it._ "

" _Well then, just transform. It'll do the same._ "

" _Shut up._ "

" _Come_ **ON** _! Let me take control, I can handle it!_ "

" _Shut up!_ "

" _It's another, what, fifteen minutes on foot from here? More, if you guys keep making pit stops. You're sick of the scenery, I can tell. Besides, any later, and you might not make it in time._ "

"I SAID _SHUT UP_!"

"Geez, I won't ask again…" Skyla mutters from nearby.

Jade opens her eyes, not remembering closing them. "What? What do you… oh… no, I was… talking to myself. That wasn't to you. What'd you ask?"

"I've been _asking_ if you were going to have any of this stuff with me. It's kinda bitter, but still good."

Sitting up to stretch her back, the Faunus looks at the tree behind her, and shakes her head. "No, not really. Not hungry."

"So then, you must've had a big breakfast. Was it good?"

"No, I didn't eat breakfast."

"So… huge dinner?"

"No, I haven't eaten anything for about two weeks. I was apparently in a coma. Woke up about an hour ago, maybe two."

"Two weeks?! And you're taking the initiation?! You're either ridiculously OP, or a chronic liar."

"Why not both?" she jokes nonchalantly, picking up a pebble and tossing it aside after inspecting it. "Meh, kinda used to not eating."

"Well, in that case, should we get going? I'm ready any time."

"Yeah, sure." With one movement, she fluidly rocks back and jumps onto her feet, extending her arm to help Skyla stand, plucking the spear from the younger girl at the same time. Running her hand over it, Jade sees the intricate design, as well as the various knobs and switches running along the length of it. Quickly scanning over it, she counts 12 overall. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier. You know, this actually isn't that bad of a weapon."

"Finally, you see how I feel."

"Buuut… it's a bit complex. And now that I think about it, didn't you say you didn't realize you could throw things harder with that gravity manipulation of yours? If not that way, how'd you train with this?"

"Uh, I-"

" _GET OUT. NOW._ "

Barely noticing the warning's tone, she pulls her partner aside and rolls back towards the treeline, to see a gigantic hole in the middle of the clearing that they were standing in moments earlier. The sound coming from the pit was that of corrosion, its cause slowly approaching the pair from behind the hole.

"Shit… I can't believe it snuck up on us."

"What kind of Grimm _is_ that?!"

"Taijitu… but not like any I've ever seen…"

It was clearly a Taijitu, but obviously much older than most. It had somehow metamorphosed white spikes all over its body, the cluster on its head forming to shape something similar to a crown. Golden eyes flickered at the two girls as it twisted itself to unhinge its frill, making the monster look even more menacing than before, almost comically so. The Grimm slithers towards them, hissing as it bares its fangs with its black end. Jade could see a toxic-green liquid, presumably its venom, drip from its fangs and fall onto the ground close to them.

"Aaaand it has acid venom. That it can spray. Perfect. Just. Fuckin'. Perfect. How the hell did something this close to a school grow so much?"

"What do we do against _THAT_?!"

She turns to see the black head unhinge its jaw, and spray venom at the cluster of trees where they're standing. Instinctively, she summons her shield to protect them from the stream, and turns to face Skyla.

" _WE_ do nothing. There's not much time until it gets through, so listen close: I'm our best shot at getting out of here, so I'll distract it, while you get to the temple, grab the artifact, and run somewhere safe. I'll catch up with you later."

"What? NO! I can't do that!"

"Why not?!"

"You're my friend! I can't leave you here to fight _THAT_!"

" _Friend? Did she…_ " Her shield breaks, and Jade pulls them away again, barely avoiding the debris caused by the Taijitu's headbutt.

"I can't leave you here! I won't do it!"

"Who said you had a choice?" Jade asks nervously as she summons her bow and shoots an arrow through Skyla's shirt collar, causing said girl to fly off into the air. A sharp stinging in her leg forces her to hide behind a tree and look down. A shard of her shield is lodged in the surface of her skin, slowly dissolving as a few drops of blood leak from the scrape. Her vision turns bright red for a moment, causing the voice to begin laughing.

" _YEAAAA BOIII! FINALLY! C'MON, GIVE ME CONTROL!_ "

" _No… I can handle it this time. Quick in, quick out. I don't want you making a mess._ "

" _Tch._ "

Walking out from behind the tree, she extends her arm to reform her shield, and transform it into her sword. Grinning, she cocks her head to the side, and begins snickering.

"Now then. I suppose you're here for me? Of course you are. Why else would you stay here and not go for the easier prey? In any case, the outcome is the same: I summoned you, I deal with you."

The snake hisses, as if laughing, idly summoning its white head to join the hunt.

"Well, at least you think highly of me. Shall we dance?"

 **...**

 **...**

 **Longest chapter so far, I think. Nice. Anyways, thanks for sticking around, and extra thanks to those who added this in the time between these past two chapters. Next chapter will be the SUPERULTRAAMAZING-fuck it, it's been a pain to write. The scenes themselves aren't hard, it's just spacing it. Did I mention what it'd be in a previous chapter? I'll assume I didn't and keep it a secret. And based on the lack of comments, I'll assume you guys are ok with reading something written in the present tense. 'S cool. Oh, and before I forget, I made a slight edit to chapter 3. Very minor, only a two word change, but it kinda foreshadows this.** **What else… I'll try to work on ch. 8 soon… fuck me if it gets uploaded in September. Can't think of anything else to add, so I'll just cap it there.**

 **Keep Moving Forward**

 **EDIT: Forgot to mention. Anyone who knows me will know that Qrow is my all-time FAV character in the show. Ergo, keep an eye out for Bad Luck Charm lyrics sprinkled throughout the fic from now on.**


	8. Chapter 8: Red like Roses

_**So… it's been a year already. Happy Oum appreciation day… except it was two weeks ago.**_

 _ **I'll cut the crap until the end: it's a music chapter (arguably the best song in Vol I). I've provided links (I know you can't click links in FF, so I've shortened them to make typing easier. If they're expired, the main one is full instrumental, nightcore starts with vocals). Hopefully the music matches the pace you're reading with. It's not great, but... shouldn't be hot garbage. Song lyrics are in bold/italics... they had their own font on my doc, but apparently that doesn't transfer over, so this'll have to do.**_

 _ **All rights to RT/Oum, the music videos aren't mine.**_

 _ **Keep Moving Forward**_

 _ **Published 19 Feb 2018**_

 _ **...**_

 _ **...**_

 ** _bit . do_** ** _/ RLR2_**

"Look, we've got bigger issues." Jaune half screams as the bridge beneath them begins collapsing.

"We'll go back for your friend once we're done here." Nora adds as she morphs her gun into its hammer form and begins cackling, swinging her weapon into the already crumbling stone.

Skyla, barely able to react, looks down at the chasm's depths and begins trembling, almost turning back to bolt for the forest again until she realized that Nora had already sent them across. The bluenette crashes down on the other side and tumbles forward, Jaune's force quickly added to her own, forcing Blake off the edge and into the Nevermore's line of fire.

Skyla gets picked up by an unknown hand and manages to stand on her feet, getting a look at her help before focusing her attention back onto the giant scorpion in front of them. "Good, you guys are here. Now, how much experience do you have fighting real Grimm?" Pyrrha asks apprehensively as the Deathstalker begins forcing them closer and closer to the edge.

With a loud war cry followed by a sickening screech, Nora's hammer slams down onto the beast, temporarily pinning it to the bridge.

"I can… do stuff." Skyla whispers, trying to swallow her fear. Her heart pounds in her head as her parent's voices begin to ring in her ears. " _Come on, get back here and help…_ "

Without pause, a roar erupts from the forest, something knocking her into the valley below at comet speeds. After a moment, her stomach jerks upwards, realizing that she's stopped moving. She opens her eyes and sees Jade holding onto a sword's hilt, its bright green blade plunged into a column.

"Erm… Jade?"

"Yeah, easy there… hold on, I gotcha." Jade pulls them up and throws her onto the platform, Skyla only now realizing that her partner had held onto her with her legs alone. The Faunus climbs up, collapses, and takes a few deep breaths, grumbling "You gotta be shitting me…", before looking up and grinning at the short girl.

"So, still think it's not time to learn some new tricks?"

"You're talking about this now?! Aren't you hurt, or worn out, or something?!"

"Shut up, I'm fine."

"You're sure?"

"'Course I'm sure." Rolling her shoulders back, the older girl grins even wider, looking directly at the marble ceiling above them. "'S a matter of fact, I haven't felt this alive in a while."

"Well, that's good news, I guess."

"Yeah, sure… on the other hand, though… well…"

…

Weiss looks on in awe at the Grimm racing out of the forest behind them. It was absolutely massive, but unrecognisable from her memory. The closest comparison that she could make was a Taijitu, with its uniformly half-black-half-white color scheme, but this had too many heads to count, frills made out of Grimm armor, and legs. If anything, this was some kind of rare lizard species.

"How didn't we see that before?" she asks herself as it dives into the canyon beneath them.

"Weiss! Look out!"

She turns back, only to see the Nevermore about to crash into the pillars they're standing on.

…

"Wait, that thing's a Hydra?"

"Yeah."

"And you kept attacking it?!"

"Mhhm."

"Well, that's it. We're dead. By this point it's got too many heads to count, so we might as well -"

"Hey, I was in the zone back when that thing was still a glorified snakeskin belt! If I knew what it was before, I wouldn't have wasted time julienning it. Now, you have the relic?"

"Julienning… but it… never mind. It's sticky, but I have it."

"Good." Standing out against the somehow blackness of her eyes, Jade's irises burn red with fire. "Hell, this'll be fun."

"So, how do we contact the teachers?"

Jade flicks her wrist, transforming her sword into her bow. "Who said that's the plan?"

"You're gonna try to kill it?!"

"Mmn, down the hearts, not the heads. Now, you wanted to help? Here's your chance." she mutters as she nocks a bright green arrow and aims it at the falling Grimm, biting her lip in anticipation. "Don't try hitting it. Don't try distracting it. Don't even stay to watch. Get as far away from here as you can go. I'll meet up with you back at the starting area. Don't lose the relic."

 **bit . do** **/ RLR2nc**

 _ **I couldn't take it, couldn't stand another minute**_

"You want me to run? Again?! I'm not leaving you this time! HEY, are you even listening to me?!"

 _ **Couldn't bear another day without you in it**_

Jade fires the arrow, somehow extending it to include a rope still connected to the bowstring.

 _ **All of the joy that I had known for my life**_

The arrow lodges itself in a crack in the Grimm's armor, and the Faunus jumps off of the platform, Skyla barely reacting in time to grab onto her partner.

 _ **Was stripped away from me the minute that you died**_

"YOU SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING?!" she screams into the wind as Jade swings down, getting closer to the hydra.

 _ **To have you in my life was all I ever wanted**_

"WE'LL TALK ONCE I'M DONE KILLING THIS THING!"

 _ **But now without you I'm a soul forever haunted**_

"YOU'RE MAKING SOUND LIKE IT'S EASY!"

 _ **Can't help but feel that I had taken you for granted**_

"TRUST ME! JUST REMEMBER WHAT I SAID EARLIER!"

 _ **No way in hell that I can ever comprehend this**_

She lands on a ledge on the cliff, and she immediately sees Jade fall onto one of the Grimm's heads, morphing her bow to a sword while dashing off to the base of the neck.

…

 _ **I wasn't dreaming when they told me you were gone**_

"None of this is working!"

 _ **I was wide awake and feeling that they had to be wrong**_

Ruby could only watch as the others scattered across the ruins, trying to position themselves so they had a better shot at downing the Nevermore.

 _ **How could you leave me when you swore that you would stay?**_

With a few glances between Blake and the Grimm, an idea suddenly pops into her head.

 _ **Now I'm trapped inside a nightmare every single f'ing day**_

"I have a plan. Cover me!" she says to Weiss as she jumps ahead, onto a different column.

…

 _ **It's like a movie, but there's not a happy ending**_

The Deathstalker pulls its stinger out of the bridge, roaring at the terrified group.

 _ **Every scene fades black, and there's no pretending**_

Jaune looks around at the others, unable to come up with a solution.

 _ **This little fairy tale doesn't seem to end well**_

The bridge begins to crumble as the Deathstalker comes closer.

 _ **There's no knight in shining armor who will wake me from the spell**_

He looks up at the beast and trembles a bit more, holding out his sword merely to calm his nerves. "Guys, we gotta move!"

 _ **I know you didn't plan this**_

The others nod in unison, readying their weapons. With a battle cry, he rushes forward, Ren immediately at his side as the others follow behind.

…

 _ **You tried to do what's right.**_

Jade laughs gleefully as she continues hacking away at the Grimm's neck. Twirling her sword around to block the venom being sprayed, she barely notices the green and black light flowing from her body.

 _ **But in the middle of this madness**_

Her sword continues to slice through the hydra's flesh in various places, only to be quickly replaced by regenerating tissue.

 _ **I'm the one**_

Her eyes shine through the splatter of the its black blood, unable to hide the joy she felt at letting loose.

 _ **I'm the one**_

"More…"

 _ **I'm the one…**_

"LET ME HAVE IT!" The hydra hisses, and two of its heads turn to dive at her. She leaps back and throws her sword like a javelin at the nearest head, temporarily stunning it as the blade is plunged under its skull, before she rushes in to pull it out.

 _ **You left to win this fight**_

Slicing through its bone and puncturing its heart, another head roars at her, causing her to turn around and lick her lips in anticipation. The beast's heart quickly begins to shrivel, what was once alive now crumbling to ashes. "Oh, yeah… come and get some!" she yells back at it, focusing solely on the light shining in its remaining eyes.

 _ **Red like roses**_

The various heads rasp hesitantly, continuing to spray acid venom as she expertly dodges and keeps switching between her weapon's various forms.

 _ **Fills my head with dreams and finds me**_

Blood continues to drip from its wounds, only serving to strengthen her resolve.

 _ **Always closer**_

The nearest head lunges as she morphs the shield into her bow, fires a rapid barrage of arrows into its maw, and jumps on top of it.

 _ **To the emptiness and sadness**_

Transforming the bow back into a hilt, she runs down another neck and jumps as the blade erupts from her hands.

 _ **That has come to take the place of you**_

In one swift motion, she plunges the sword deep into the base of the beast's neck.

 _ **I know you're broken down by anger and by sadness**_

She slices into the neck cleanly, and throws her sword into the pulsating mass of flesh inside, downing the head before it regrew.

 _ **You feel I left you in a world that's full of madness**_

The remaining heads roar, and all lunge at her.

 _ **Wish I could talk to you, if only for a minute**_

Still grinning madly, she pulls the sword out of the Grimm's body and falls into an offensive stance.

 _ **Make you understand the reasons why I did it**_

With a loud _CRACK_ , a large boulder falls from the cliffs beside her and hits one of the heads, doing little aside from distracting the hydra.

 _ **I wanna tell you that you're all that ever mattered**_

She looks up and sees Skyla repeatedly kicking the side of the cliff, chipping away at the stone until pieces begin to fall off on their own.

 _ **Want you to know that, for eternity, I'm shattered**_

Jade's sclera switch from black to white, her face falling as multiple of the Grimm's heads hiss and shoot up towards the girl above them.

 _ **I tried so hard just to protect you, but I failed to**_

Apparently unaware of the impending danger, Skyla's focus remains on the cliff, continuing to chip away at her surroundings

 _ **And in a prison of abandonment I've jailed you**_

"SKYLA! LOOK DOWN!"

 _ **I never planned that I would leave you there alone**_

With a flash of green aura, Jade leaps up from head to head, trying to block them from reaching any higher.

 _ **I was sure that I would see you when I made it back home**_

Only now hearing her screams, Skyla turns around, and barely manages to jump aside as one of the heads rams into the cliffside before continuing to chase her.

 _ **And all the times I swore that it would be okay**_

" _Get out… get out… GET OUT!"_

 _ **Now I'm nothing but a liar, and you're thrown into the fray**_

As the blade once again shatters in her hand, she only then notices the green light emerging from her body, and looks back upwards. To her horror, she also spots flecks of green light around Skyla as well.

 _ **This bedtime story ends with misery ever after**_

"Shit… _SHIT SHIT SHIT_ … SKYLA! GET AWAY!"

 _ **The pages are torn, and there's no final chapter**_

Her eyes widen once more as the Grimm makes its mark, an obscenely long fang piercing the younger girl's body through to the other side.

…

 _ **I didn't have a choice, I did what I had to do**_

"TAKE OUT ITS STINGER!" Ren shouts over the Deathstalker's cry, forcing himself upright despite the bruises the Grimm just gave him.

 _ **I made a sacrifice, but forced a bigger sacrifice on you**_

"Pyrrha!" "Done." she cries out, throwing her shield at the dangling stinger. It tears through the appendage and flies back to her hand, the stinger falling onto the scorpion and piercing its armor.

 _ **I know you've lived a nightmare**_

"Nora, NAIL IT!" "Heads up!" She jumps onto Pyrrha's shield, and pulls the trigger on her hammer. The sound echoes throughout the canyon, creating an air burst so powerful that everyone except her flinches as she flies up several hundred feet.

 _ **I caused you so much pain**_

Laughing maniacally, she reaches her peak and pulls the trigger again, slamming down onto the scorpion with enough impact to shatter both its exoskeleton, and the teetering tower beneath it.

 _ **But, baby, please don't do what I did**_

Jaune screams as he launches through the air, landing flat on his back alongside the others as they slowly watch the Grimm tumble into the abyss. " _That_ could've gotten a lot worse…" he mumbles to himself.

 _ **I don't want…**_

Shown nods of agreement by the others, he lets out a loud sigh, and jumps momentarily, frightened by the sound Ren made as he hit the floor from blood loss.

 _ **You to waste your life in vain**_

"Well… didn't we jinx it."

…

 _ **Red like roses**_

"Of course, _you_ would be the one to come up with this plan." Weiss grumbles, pulling Ruby into position for launch.

 _ **Fills my head with dreams and finds me**_

Ruby chuckles at the thought, turning to Weiss and asking, "Think you can make the shot?"

 _ **Always closer**_

"Hmph. _Can_ I."

"Wait, ca-"

"OF COURSE I CAN."

 _ **To the emptiness and sadness**_

Taking one more deep breath, Ruby steels her nerves and nods, relaxing her grip on Crescent Rose. "Ready."

 _ **That has come to take the place of you.**_

Despite the loud _boom_ blasting her ears, Ruby continues to look straight ahead at the Nevermore, preparing to finish the job.

…

 _ **You're not the only one who needed me; I thought you understood**_

"Skyla, comeonecomeoncomeone, you can get through this… your aura can recover this."

 _ **You were the one I needed, and you left me as I always feared you would**_

However, there was no light emanating from her body. It was almost as if...

 _ **Would I change it if I could?**_

"I'm so sorry, Jade… I…"

 _ **It doesn't matter how**_

"SHIT." Quivering, Jade bites her lip to the point of bleeding, and begins to chant, eyes closed, hand over Skyla's chest.

 _ **The petals scatter now**_

"For it is in our actions that we achieve immortality. A desire to protect, and save those beneath us.

 _ **Every nightmare just discloses**_

"To right the wrongs the world has presented,

 _ **It's your blood that's red like roses**_

"To repent the sins of the past,

 _ **And no matter what I do**_

"To become a paragon of selflessness.

 _ **Nothing ever takes the place of you**_

"Bound by hope for the future, I release your soul, and by my blood, prevent thine from taint."

With a deep, inward breath, she lifts her hand and stands. She turns to face the monstrosity behind them, not even opening her eyes: her ears had already told her that Skyla's heart had already given out.

With a deep exhale, her eyes open once again, gold irises standing out against pitch black. Wings suddenly sprout from her back as she leaps out of the cavern into the Grimm's open mouth, both roaring animalistically.

…

 _ **Red like roses**_

"Well, good job to everyone." Yang adds casually to the group of eight. "We've done our job, you've done yours. And everyone came out alive."

 _ **Fills my head with dreams and finds me**_

A blast of radiant green light bursts from the depths below them, a giant reptilian Grimm emerging from the depths.

 _ **Always closer**_

"Oh, oh, WHAT NOW."

 _ **To the emptiness and sadness**_

It twitches wildly, the green light emanating from its stomach.

 _ **That has come to take the place**_

The Grimm explodes, a singular form erupting from its carcass onto one of the platforms nearby.

 _ **Of**_

The figure, a white haired Faunus covered in black blood, spits down and smiles eerily at at the Grimm's corpse.

 _ **You**_

Looking back to them, she lifts her sword triumphantly, her eyes rolling back into her head as she collapses on the spot.

...

...

 **So… yeah. It's not that great. As for why? I just needed to get the plot moving. I know I was hyping it up (all that time ago), but it's been bogging me down for a while, so it's out. And in all honesty, I'm ok with that. When I started putting this out, I had a really good idea for a fic, but that eventually got bogged down by the clickbait-nature of new content creators. IE, "Hm. This got some views. How do I make it more interesting", while sacrificing the integrity of the original idea. And that's not even considering how hard student life is: I know there are some of you out there who thrive under massive amounts of stress, but this past year, I've cracked in a couple places, and gone through a couple depressive patches. Hopefully that's gonna change, but until I can say for certain, here's some music. So, yeah. I'll keep putting stuff out, but I'll just do what I feel like writing, at my own pace, as all writing should be. After all, isn't that the point of Monty's work? Do what you love, and don't take shit from anyone. And before anyone asks, regarding the "Oh, she has, like, seven semblances, you can't do that" that I'm bound to eventually get, it'll all be explained. Trust me, a good portion of writing this fic is maintaining continuity for all the bullshit that goes on. Oh yeah, I also changed the fic's description. The old one was pretty bad.**

 **Anyways, we miss you, Monty.**

 **Keep Moving Forward**


	9. Chapter 9: A Well Needed Meeting

**college is stressful. not even university yet…**

 **Keep Moving Forward**

 **6 August 2018**

 **…**

 **…**

The clock ticked its eternal tune; its metronome filling the room as Ozpin sighs, putting away his business scroll to glance at the clock again.

"Three... two... one..." he mutters as the hand hits the hour, prompting the cuckoo to burst out. The large bundle curled up on the futon in the corner falls off with a loud _THUD_ , Jade poking her head out from under the blanket. "Ah, Miss Fae. Nice to have you with us again." Ozpin says casually, pulling a coffee pot out from under his desk.

"I seem to recall that I owe you a cup. You said you liked yours black?"

Stammering, she looks around the office: bright sunlight pours in from every wall, the room barren of furniture except for the futon she rests on, his own desk, and a guest chair.

"I... yeah. I guess." She takes a seat, eyes still darting around the room.

"Is she... what happened?"

"Regarding Initiation?"

She nods, Ozpin letting out another sigh as he poured out the coffee. "If you were hoping to hear otherwise, then I'm sorry. But, your partner is indeed gone."

He could sense her aura immediately begin to flare, her sadness literally oozing into the room's atmosphere.

"Why..." she spat out quietly, grinding her teeth. "Why did she have to die like this..."

"My dear, taking the initiation was her own choice. Something she wanted to attempt in order to make herself and others happier at the end. And speaking of happy..."

With a slight smirk, he reaches behind his desk and pulls out three small vials. "Two spoons of honey, a sprinkle of brown sugar, and a dash of cinnamon. Best way to take one's coffee, in my own opinion."

Jade still glares at him, a death stare so intense that he puts down his mug in defeat.

"Miss Fae, I'd recommend that you keep your emotions in check, lest you attract further Nevermore to the academy."

She rolls her eyes and scoffs, but blocks off her aura and puts her hand in her jacket pocket. Not a moment later, she opens her eyes in shock and immediately lunges forward, grabbing Ozpin by his shirt collar.

"WHERE IS IT?!"

"I... beg your pardon?"

"MY SCROLL! WHERE DID YOU PUT IT?!"

"Your scroll? Why, it's ri-"

"GIVE IT BACK, NOW!"

Alarmed at her tone, Ozpin fumbles with the handle on his desk drawer and practically throws the device at her. Within an instant, she inserts the earbuds into her human ears and begins blasting music at such a volume that even he had no trouble hearing it. Goth rock, by the sound of it. She bobs her head slightly in tune with the rhythm, eyes closed, and soon begins to slow her breathing.

"Apologies, Professor. I… can be emotionally unstable without my music."

"As long as you're better now. I must admit though, it's quite loud. By chance, is that Fairy Dust, by Fantasy Unification?"

Her eyebrows raise in surprise, eyes still closed. "You recognize Fairy Dust?"

Ozpin stifles a small laugh, somewhat in awe that Faunus hearing could be applied to this type of multitasking. "Lucky guess, I suppose. Many of those in detention tend to bring amplifiers to pass the time, so I suppose it's only natural that we as mentors would be exposed to this sort of youth culture."

She nods slightly. He takes another quick scan of the room; her aura, while no longer projected, seems to be oscillating in time with the song.

"Now, regarding Skyla."

Jade takes in a breath through her teeth.

"While I hate to admit it, you were right. She had to have agreed to this, and should've known the risks." "

Well, now that we got past that point, I'd like to bring up the other two."

Her aura spikes slightly, blood-red eyes snapping open. "What other two?"

Biting his lip, Ozpin taps a few commands into his keyboard and brings up the images of the two others killed by the Hydra, projecting them onto his desk. "Nicole Vanta, and Dolores Vermillion. And now that we're discussing them, I seem to recall that the two of them took the black pawn pieces as well."

He fills up his cup again, only now realizing that the pot is now empty; he looks at hers and sees it hasn't been touched.

"What exactly does that mean?"

"I see you haven't tried your coffee yet. Really, it's quite a wonderful blend, I highly re-"

"Professor, I asked you a question. What exactly do you mean when you say this?"

He pauses cautiously. "Take a guess. I had assumed you had an aptitude for gleaning knowledge in situations like this, and I'd hate to be wrong for both of our sakes."

The melody shifts; what was once rhythm-heavy metal now leans into a classical piece with electric guitar.

Her eyes narrow, and she looks down. "We would be on the same team."

He nods casually. "Correct. You four seemed like the perfect fit for each other, but unfortunately… well, only gods can change the past."

"'And we in ourselves can change the present, making a brighter future together'. Sienna Khan, before her arrest six years ago."

Ozpin chuckles halfheartedly, pouring more coffee powder into the pot.

"Very good, Miss Fae. I was hoping you'd get that one. And while I certainly don't condone the White Fang's violence…" He picks up his spoon and waves it absentmindedly in the air. "I can always appreciate a message with such positivity. Is something the matter? You don't seem too interested in what's going on. Would a different blend be better? I have a few in stock, if you'd like."

"No, it's not that. Just…" Jade takes in another deep breath, in what looks like an attempt to swallow her next sentence. She steps out of her seat and pushes it back in, bowing politely, blank faced.

"If you'll excuse me, I'd like to get going. I don't see much reason for me staying at this point." She walks over to the door to access the elevator and jiggles the handle, rattling it back and forth within a few seconds.

"Well, why didn't you say something? I have the key, if you wish to leave." Ozpin says calmly as he pulls a key ring from out of his coat pocket, several dozen hanging together.

"Now, which is it…"

Somewhat surprised, she walks back to the table and reaches out for the key, only to be blocked by his hand.

"However, I'm fairly certain we aren't quite finished with this conversation. Sit down for a bit longer."

Surprised, she turns the volume down on her scroll and takes her seat again.

"Thank you. Now, if I recall. Didn't you mention, that you'd like to remain as a student here at Beacon Academy?"

A frown crosses her face for a split second, covered up immediately by a blank mask. "That… I wasn't properly thinking at the time. While it does have some interest for me to stay here, it's not a good idea overall."

"Oh? How so? I thought you were leaping for the idea to stay here in Vale proper? Why, to my recollection you escaped from the hospital wing simply to participate in the initiation."

"Under the influence, yes."

He blinks in surprise. "Influence? Of what? All you had was the medication we gave you. An aura enhancement, not an inhibitor."

"Please don't insult me like that, Professor. I may be young, but I'm fully aware both of what Sodium Amytal is capable of, as well as the sensation of being on the receiving end. Additionally, if it was just a simple aura enhancement, then why would a continuous dose have been deadly after I fainted in the initiation? I'd otherwise still be receiving it, by all accounts."

Ozpin stutters for a moment, stunned at her accusation. Then laughs. "Guilty as charged. _VERY_ good, Miss Fae. Full marks. Yes, I admit that you were dosed mildly with Truth Serum, I won't beat around the bush. Now, why do you feel that you don't want to stay here? You completed the objective at hand, no denying that. You admitted earlier that there was someone in Vale that you wanted, correct? Yet, this goal is sub-par to your current agenda?"

"Well… you see, when you stay in the freelance business, you're bound to get hunted down eventually. Particularly nasty bunch that I would have avoided if I could. I'd rather not tangle the kingdoms up in all of this. Or longer than is needed, at least. Besides, I'm old enough to already be in my third year here, and I'm sure this would cause you endless amounts of paperwork."

He takes another sip of his coffee, eying the stone cold glass in front of her. "I see. Well then, if that's all, I bid you farewell, and hope you have a safe trip to wherever it is you need to go. Know that you're always welcome in my office if you stop by again."

He hands her the key as she stands up to leave, not even pushing in her chair this time.

"Of course… I'm truly sorry about having to call James into this matter. But, as you said, you'd rather not tangle up the kingdoms for longer than needed, so we should get this over with."

She pauses in her tracks. "James… Ironwood?"

"The very same. You see, around a week ago, an alarm was triggered in the same area of Vacuo you claim to have been in. Naturally, a warning flare has been sent out to the other kingdoms that the vigilante terrorist who singlehandedly cleared out a White Fang facility was unable to be found."

Frowning again, she takes her seat for the third time.

"And… what does this have to do with me, exactly?"

"Oh, a great deal, apparently. You see, the terrorist not only had great skill, but also a great reputation. The Jade Dragon, in some areas of the world. You've heard of him?"

"I… can't say that I haven't. But that's just the name given to an unknown group. One that works in the shadows, whose list of operative is impossible to glean."

"Mm. Well, you see, we now have reason to believe that you, my dear, may be on such a list of members. Just last year, the international council determined that one of them, who's been doing more of the recent attacks, is a Faunus."

"Oh, great. Profiling me, just cause of my name and general appearance. Where have I heard that before."

Ozpin feels a small buzzing feeling prying into the back of his head, a sensation he knew all too well. With a furrow of his brow, he concentrates his own aura and with one well delivered blast, pushes the foreign sensation out of his consciousness.

"Hm. Well, everything's been under suspicion and profiling for a very long time, until this most recent incident. Mainly since this time around, the facility had shreds of video recording left over from its destruction."

The probing sensation tries again, requiring more of an effort to expel from his thoughts.

"Point being, multiple militaries now have at least a general figure to arrest for suspicion. Tell me, Miss Fae, what do you think of this figure?"

He puts up another image, this time one taken from the video footage; the figure is a white haired Faunus girl in a dark hoodie, with feline ears and an ornate white mask. Some number of frames later, a different image shows the same figure with the mask fallen off, and bright yellow eyes standing out against black sclera.

The probing sensation accelerates into a sharp shooting pain, stabbing into his conscious to gain deeper and deeper access. With one strenuous push, he expels the intruder and glares at Jade.

"Please stop doing that. While I admit it's remarkable you have this much aura control this young, it's rude to try and read the thoughts of others."

She glares back. "You're willing to turn me in to Ironwood on a hunch? How can you be sure this is me? My eyes are red, not golden. Plus, your nurse can confirm, my arm's been like this for much longer than a week."

"All fair points. However, he directed the Council to issue orders for the arrest of anyone even remotely resembling this figure. There's really nothing I can do… however, I'd like to freely add to this conversation that documented students likely won't turn up in criminal searches anytime soon. But shame that these incredibly long sign-up forms, taking about five minutes, are far out of the way for this to be manageable. Perhaps there's some in my drawer, but that's just a pipe dream. And of course, the Headmaster or Deputy in charge is required to authorize such a signature, which in most situations is quite the hassle…"

"You're blackmailing me into enrolling." Her blank stare continues to crack for fractions of a second at a time, hate burning in blood red irises only to be put out instances later.

"It's entirely up to you. I'm just informing you that criminal or not, James Ironwood will want to have a word, willingly or otherwise. And in all honesty, the so called 'evidence' doesn't really incriminate you in my opinion. There's a similarity, yes, but as you mentioned, the eyes and limb count are different. But in any case, criminal or not, all humanity is the same. Every saint has a past,"

"'And every sinner, a future'."

"Ozcar Taeme, yes. So, do you accept our offer?"

The clock chimes again, one more tone than previously. How quickly an hour passes.

Now visibly irritated, she stands up to leave yet again; he could feel her aura continue to radiate outward, in a dangerously pulsating manner. "You already have these forms filled out, judging by your attitude towards me staying. Do what you will, but just know that I plan on leaving my business is done."

"Perfectly fair." he accepts, hands folded in front of him. "I'll have you in our records within the hour. Students have Bullhead full-access passes free of charge on weekends and holidays, so you can conduct said business. I'll send a message to your scroll regarding your dorm room and course schedule later, however, as I currently have a couple phone calls to make regarding the three late trainees. Any further questions before we're done?"

She pauses, hesitantly coming forward. "Yes, actually. May… may I see their bodies? Before they're buried or sent home, I mean."

He raises an eyebrow, surprised that he failed to consider an attachment to her would-be partner.

"Of course. They're currently being held in cold storage beneath the school… I'll ask one of the other professors to show you the way. It wasn't your fault, if that's what you're thinking."

"I… know. I just want the chance to grieve."

"As would I. Now then, I should get prepared as well, but before I do…" He presses one last button on his desk, standing to reach the unlocked drawer in the shelf above his head.

"This… I believe belongs to you."

 **…**

 **…**

 **"** **Hmmmhmhm… there we go." Jade mutters, moving away from the adjusted camera.**

 **She backs up and clears her throat, blatantly obvious that her voice is much higher than it was before. Not in a feminine sense either… like the kind of high pitched mad scientist voice you'd listen to on Saturday morning cartoons.** **But also mixed with the kind of voice that you can immediately tell that he's physically attractive.** **Static flies across the screen, and distorts the background audio.**

 **"** **Hello, my lovely audience!"**

 **The camera zooms in and focuses, making it also clear that her eyes aren't red, but instead golden. With a cheerful wave, her right arm becomes visible: somehow covered in black scales, almost reptilian.**

 **"** **Today I come to you with the aid of FourthWallCo™'s magical reputation. Now, to clarify, I'm not Jade… or whatever she calls herself these days. I am the marvelous and magnificent Lucifer! Not that one that you're thinking of, obviously, but I have quite a reputation in my own right. Anyways, if you're too scared of me, just call me Lucy! I'm sure we'll be the best of friends!"**

 **(S)He [?] jumps up and down giddily, like one of those blonde airheads every time you imagine 'rich', 'white', and 'beauty parlor' together in the same sentence… or the first thing you imagine when thinking 'flamboyantly gay'. Or both. I'm a wall of text, I'm not here to judge.**

 **"** **Ahem. Now then,** ** _this_** **motherfucker, being me, would like to talk to you all about** ** _this_** **motherfucker. Say 'Hi', sweetie."**

 **He takes a step to the side to reveal a hooded figure tied to a chair. When he takes the hood off… it's the author.**

 **The author blinks a few times to adjust to the lights, and panics.**

 **"** **Wait, what… how… who the hell… WHY AM I HERE?! How are you even real?!"**

 **"** **Not my problem hon, you're the one who came up with my character development while simultaneously watching that Deadpool movie. Good-ass movie, I hear they're making a tre-quel."**

 **"** **THAT DOESN'T ANSWER MY QUESTION OF WHY I'M TIED UP BY A FICTIONAL CHARACTER!"**

 **"** **Isn't all fanfiction just something dirty shown in a way that makes it less so? Besides, I brought you here to apologize."**

 **"** **Uh… apologize for what?"**

 **"** **For forgetting about us, you asshat!"**

 **Lucy takes a pistol out of nowhere and fires it into the ceiling, causing the author to flinch.**

 **"** **I never forgot about you guys, I… I just had other things to do."**

 **"** **Like what? I live in your head, you do nothing 34 percent of the time. 33 percent was class, and that's done with, while another 38 percent was gaming."**

 **The author frowns, and inaudibly begins counting.**

 **"** **I don't think that's correct…"**

 **"** **My point still stands! Either do more writing on this or write something else, for fucking out loud…"**

 **"** **You think that's a threat? You're not real! And besides, I've been meaning to write something else anyways! OC inserts are hard, they gotta stick to the main plotline, and stuff."**

 **"** **You… oh, that's it. You're done for."**

 **He storms over to the camera and fakes a smile, blowing a kiss at the audience before scowling again and reaching over to turn off the recording.**

 **The last thing heard is the author yelling, "THIS WOULD'VE BEEN BETTER IF I KNEW HOW TO ANIMATE!"**


End file.
